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KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — A Hindraf-led anti-ISA rally saw nearly 2,000 marching through the city centre tonight. Police had denied entry into Dataran Merdeka where the group had planned to hold an hour-long candlelight vigil. This resulted in the crowd, just about 500-strong then, deciding to move to Court Hill Sri Ganesar Temple off Jalan Pudu.

Eventually, what was planned to be an hour-long gathering in an already cordoned-off area turned into a moving roadblock that disrupted traffic for twice as long. The orange-clad, flag-waving and candle holding protestors had made their way to the temple in three blocks via Jalan Tun Perak. By the time they arrived, the total size had quadrupled to close to 2,000 with passersby and latecomers including a significant number of Chinese and Malay supporters joining up.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 — Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said today he will contest the Umno presidency even if Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi decides against defending his post. He also spoke out against the postponement of the party polls, and urged members to push for the reinstatement of December as the date of the annual general assembly.

Tengku Razaleigh also called on Umno grassroots to reject the latest transition of power plan involving Abdullah and party deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Razak. "I reject this transition of power because it is extra-constitutional," the veteran Umno member told reporters at his home here. He criticised the transition plan for being unethical as "it is not stated within the party's constitution".

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 - Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has now backtracked on claims he is on the verge of taking power, and says "it is not an issue of deadlines," anymore. Anwar had originally set two deadlines - Sept 16 and then Sept 23 - as dates on which his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance would take over the federal government.

But after both dates passed with little incident, his supporters are beginning to express frustration and Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders are even calling him a liar.

Said Anwar today: "They have called me many things before. The point is if they believe I'm a liar, then put me to the test in Parliament."

Speaking to reporters at the lobby of the Court Complex in Jalan Duta here early this afternoon after attending the mention for his Sodomy II trial, Anwar clarified that it is no longer about setting and meeting deadlines but rather about forming the next federal government in a non-violent and lawful manner.

In a special program from Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia, Inside Story from al jazeera networking examines how the recent financial turmoil on Wall Street has affected Asian markets and economies including the oil price, rice etc.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Malaysia’s opposition leader said Tuesday he has more than enough pledges of support from ruling coalition lawmakers to topple the government, and urged the prime minister to give up power voluntarily.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s claims — his strongest yet and seemingly beyond the likelihood of a bluff — signaled he could be on the verge of nudging the ruling National Front coalition from power for the first time since independence in 1957.Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi brushed off Anwar’s claims. “This is Anwar’s mirage. It is nothing. It is merely a dream,” he said.

Anwar’s People’s Alliance coalition won an unprecedented 82 seats in the 222-member Parliament in March general elections, 30 short of a majority. But during the last six months, he has been wooing disgruntled lawmakers from the National Front to defect.

Malaysian day has started with Isyak and tarawikh solat then sing a Malaysia song.

Khalid Ibrahim (Parti Keadilan rakyat)

Selangor Menteri Besar is condemn the ISA(Internal Securty Act) and announce about the public holiday in Selangor regarding to the Malaysian day (September 16). He also said about the corruption issues in Selangor and promise to be a better government rather than "BE END" party.

Lim Guan Eng (Democratic Action Party)

Pulau Pinang ketua menteri Lim Guan Eng proud when Zaid Ibrahim quit regarding to the ISA(internal security Act) issues. The new era of Malaysia will be more democracy, more justice, more freedom, and have a taqwa's citizen. He also hope people to love "amar maaruf nahi mungkar".

Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh Timur Member parliament)

Democratic Action Party(DAP) advisor, Lim Kit Siang mention about the important thing about Malaysian day as National public holiday and it will be happen when Anwar Ibrahim be a Prime Minister. He also said about the 916 issue as a "sky change", that is BE END will be replaced by Pakatan Rakyat.

Kamaruddin Jaafar (Islamic Party Main Secretary)

Islamic Party main secretary, Kamaruddin jaafar give a full support to Anwar Ibrahim as a new Prime Minister in a holly month of Ramadan Insyaallah.

Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim told a 20,000-strong rally that he had the numbers to form a new government and wants to meet with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to discuss a handover. Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim also said that he had signed up more than 31 defectors needed to form a new government and called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi not to implement emergency rule to thwart a takeover.Anwar Ibrahim promise that he will reduce the oil price and destroy the ISA(Internal Act Security).

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim claimed tonight that his Pakatan Rakyat alliance is ready to form the government in the next 24 hours, but pointed out that the opposition was, however, prepared to delay the formation.

Speaking at PR's Malaysia Day celebrations at the MBPJ Stadium in Kelana Jaya, he reiterated that the opposition coalition had the numbers in hand to form the next government. While Anwar made his claim, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi scoffed at the suggestion at a separate function tonight that the opposition was on the verge of forming the government. Anwar, however, also suggested the change of government may not happen within the next day.

"Why are we not changing tomorrow? We don't want to do it by force. To go to Putrajaya and drag them out. So, we want to negotiate with the prime minister to see if he wants one week or two weeks. "But our promise is that we will not follow the rule of the jungle. There will be no witch-hunting - what is done is done. What we want is to rule without corruption, detention without trial or theft of the people's resources." The opposition leader also told the crowd that he had already sent a delegation to Abdullah with a letter from the leaders of its three component parties seeking to discuss a peaceful transition of power.

"Tomorrow is D-Day. We are ready to form the government. We have enough numbers and tomorrow we will make our stand clear," he said to over 10,000 gathered at the stadium. He spent much of his speech criticising the Barisan Nasional government especially with regards to the recent ISA arrests. He also made a raft of guarantees - to free all ISA detainees, reduce the cost of living immediately after taking his oath of office as prime minister. "Once I take the oath of office, we will free all the ISA detainees," he told the cheering crowd.

Anwar's comeback has been remarkable. The former deputy PM who was beaten in police custody, jailed for corruption and sodomy and currently faces fresh sodomy charges, recently won an important by-election in a landslide.

Yet Anwar's march to power still faces major problems. Next week, his sodomy trial date will be announced. However as Davis reports, the country is reeling from the leaking of a doctor's report that says there's no evidence that Anwar sodomised his assistant, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan.

The explicit and confronting notes from the doctor's medical examination of Azlan were published on the internet by a well-known Malaysian dissident. The government has since closed his website down, raided his home, confiscated his computers and charged him with sedition.

As for the doctor, he's fled to Burma in fear of his life. A second doctor - this one from a government hospital - backs up the aide's claim that was sodomised.

Mark Davis speaks to Anwar Ibrahim to get his take on these latest twists and turns, and Davis also reveals the lengths to which Anwar has gone to shore up support for him and his party.

Is Anwar Ibrahim going to shake things up and change the face of Malaysian politics forever?

Time Magazine ranks Anwar Ibrahim is one of the world's most influential people in Leaders & Revolutionaries.

Monday, Apr. 28, 2008

Anwar Ibrahim

During the 1990s, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and a group of U.S. Senators organized a forum to exchange views among East Asians and Americans. Asked at one session about the role of Islam in politics, Anwar replied, "I have no use for governments which call themselves Islamic and then deny basic rights to half their population."This devout Muslim leader was an impressive and eloquent advocate of tolerance, democracy and human rights. So we were shocked by his arrest and trial in 1998 on charges of corruption and sodomy. I felt his real "crime" had been to challenge Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, whose impressive record will be forever stained by his treatment of Anwar. I joined Senator Sam Nunn and others to speak out in Anwar's defense. When he was finally released from prison in 2004, U.S. policy on Iraq was unpopular in Malaysia, and Anwar was harshly critical. It would have been easy for him to disown our friendship, but he is not that kind of person. He kept the channels of dialogue open, even while making clear our disagreements.Anwar, 60, is back in the center of Malaysian politics. The coalition led by his wife Wan Azizah has become the main opposition bloc. His future role can be determined only by Malaysians. One can hope that they will embrace his brand of tolerance, valuing dialogue across political differences, and that this courageous leader will continue to play a leading role on the world stage.